“People started punching and tackling our side and one [of the protesters] pepper-sprayed in defense,” counter-rally organizer Jordan Hoiberg told the Orange County Register. “We were expecting it to be more peaceful.”

There were other confrontations as anti-Trump protesters and bystanders berated members of the Make America Great Again gathering. As many as 2,000 people waving flags, holding signs and wearing face paint marched along the Bolsa Chica State Beach. It was one of several pro-Trump events that took place across the nation.

The anti-Trump group Indivisible OC 48 released a statement before the march saying that its members would not join any counterprotest at the rally.

“Indivisible OC 48 believes that the most effective way to combat an agenda built on discrimination and divisiveness is to focus on our own positive and peaceful political actions, and not to engage in confrontations with other citizens exercising their rights to free speech,” the group said.